‘Confidante, adviser, mate’: Tredrea speaks about his special relationship with the late Geof Motley

“Confidante, adviser, mate” ... Port Adelaide great Warren Tredrea speaks about his special relationship with Geof Motley, after his passing at age 88.

SANFL great Geof Motley passed away aged 88 on Tuesday from a short illness. Picture: Luke Hemer

• ‘True footy warrior’: Tributes for SANFL legend Geof Motley

The Power's only AFL premiership captain Warren Tredrea has hailed Geof Motley as being “as big a legend as the Port Adelaide Football Club has ever had’’.

Club great Tredrea, who famously held the AFL premiership cup aloft with coach Mark Williams at the MCG in 2004, said Motley’s name was synonymous with Port Adelaide.

“He was a giant of the game who made a lifetime contribution to the club,’’ Tredrea said after the passing of the 88-year-old Motley on Tuesday night.

“There is the ridiculous fact that he won six premierships in a row (from 1954-59), captain-coached the last one, and won a record nine overall as a player, with reports suggesting he was either best on ground or close to it in most of those games, which proved he was a big-time player.

“He has a race named after him at Adelaide Oval, which is a wonderful tribute, he’s an Australian and South Australian Football Hall of Famer.

“But the one that would probably be most dear to his heart would be being a Port Adelaide Hall of Famer because the club meant so much to him.

“He is an absolute legend of the club and gave so much to football in this state.’’

Warren Tredrea (centre) alongside Geof Motley (right) and Port Adelaide chief executive Brian Cunningham in 1999 after signing his long-term contract to stay at the club.

Tredrea shared a special relationship with Motley and said he was one of the most influential people in his 255-game, 549-goal AFL career with the Power from 1997 to 2010.

Tredrea is the club’s leading AFL goalkicker, won the club goalkicking award eight times and is a four-time John Cahill Medallist as best and fairest.

Motley was Tredrea’s first and only player manager during his playing career, signing him as a 17-year-old from the Port Magpies.

He would become a trusted friend and confidante, who taught Tredrea plenty of life lessons.

“He is related to my late nanna,” Tredrea said.

“And my dad (former Port player Gary Tredrea), asked him if he would look at taking me on as a player, being my manager.

“I passed his sniff test, so to speak.

“I know some of the big names that he turned down, but for me, a kid and someone who was green behind the ears, and having him say he'd love to manage me, that was a really telling part of my career.’’

Tredrea formed a strong bond with Motley, saying one of his endearing qualities was his “brutal honesty’’.

“He told it the way it was and never sugar-coated anything, which I loved.’’ Tredrea said.

“He treated me like a son, I was one of his (player management) crew, along with players like Nathan Buckley, Shaun Rehn, Peter and Shaun Burgoyne and Craig Bradley, and he was a confidante, an adviser, a mate.

“For me he was wonderful because he didn’t do player management for a job, he did it for a pastime and all he wanted to do was look after his boys.

Warren Tredrea (centre) with Geof Motley (right) and former Port Adelaide teammate Josh Carr.

“But he enjoyed the negotiation, he was a fierce businessman and he always told me to just worry about doing the best I could with my football and that the rest would take of itself.’’

Motley negotiated the contract in 1999 that kept Tredrea at Port long term after he was fielding rival deals offering him more money and greater opportunities.

“There was a stage where I felt I had to leave Port to get more opportunities but then there were some changes, ‘Choco’ (Williams) was put in as coach and his words to me were, ‘centre half-forward is yours to lose',’’ Tredrea said.

“Things had changed, I was playing some good footy and happy at the club but Geof never pushed me in any direction.

“He just laid everything out on the table and said ‘here are the offers, now it’s decision time’, and as I was on the verge of signing for Port, he made me stop and said, ‘you understand this is the worst deal on the table’.

“The reaction on Brian Cunningham and Rob Snowdon’s faces was priceless, but in the end it was just his way of showing them who was boss.

“But he was very good, very loyal and someone who would go to war for you.

“I owe him a lot and he will be greatly missed.’’